Mirror Maru

Pelican Fly; 2012

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Music from this release

The DMC World DJ Championships are likely the most impressive DJing event that you've never heard of-- pulling up video of this year's competition exposes you to kinetic jockeys putting on the kind of showy digital performances that keep AraabMuzik selling out concerts. The annual competition, which allows for individual and group bouts, pits turntablists against each other to perform highly insular, complicated sets, which are then scored by judges. There are some famous alumni, including the late Roc Raida of the X-Ecutioners and A-Trak. But former champions are more likely to resemble Harvard math BS and Tisch School of the Arts Professor, DJ Shiftee, whose technical acuity is leagues ahead of his glamour quotient.

DJ Final, aka Magnus August Høiberg, aka Cashmere Cat, was a DMC finalist, which should give you some impression of his abilities behind the boards. But in early February 2011, the Norwegian producer left that insular and somewhat stuffy world behind for a new persona: that of a "forest cat" who loved to make music. There was a picture of the supposed artist near the bottom of his Facebook page, stretched out on a car seat and all tangled up with a USB cord and an Apple charger. The caption on the photo is "me workin on a new song in the studio." A little closer to the bottom of the page there's a video of some kittens running back and forth across a turntable. The note here reads "me worKinG on sOME newWW tRaxX wiTHh soME FrIenDZ."

It's this combination-- a hugely efficient technical sensibility superseded by a pop playfulness that makes Cashmere Cat such an effective producer. His debut EP Mirror Maru is comprised of four tracks of colorful, warm EDM suffused with R&B leanings and backed by regimented drum samples. And though it's only 15 minutes long, the EP manages to communicate a fully realized artistic persona, one that finds the beating heart underneath all that scratched vinyl.

Where producers like Ryan Hemsworth (whom Høiberg is reminiscent of) go in for Trap and classic Southern rap to give their music its punch, the Oslo native takes his cues from producers like Timbaland, employing all manner of drum machines and unorthodox sound effects (autotuned bedsprings anyone?) to create a backdrop for melody. On the title track, a stately descending piano guides us in and out, while interspersed drumstick interludes pick us up and drop us deeper into the mix. Near the one minute mark, shimmering percussion and a slapping drum machine highlight the tones above them, acting as a compass to illuminate the direction in which the track is heading.

These signposts are necessary as Høiberg puts an emphasis on forward progression that makes his tracks feel looser than your standard build-tension-drop-bass one-two step. Without the percussion it would be easy to get mired in temperate noise. "Secrets + Lies" doesn't rely on any kind of simple loop or repetition, and instead builds slowly, arching its way into a beautiful vocal sample and refusing altogether to indulge listeners by pulling bass out of the mix. Even at the two minute mark, the producer's able to keep things fresh, accentuating a tiny drop with a musicality that makes it clear he's unwilling to rely on simple tricks.

But Høiberg isn't all holier-than-thou restraint and undeniable smoothness. The Cashmere Cat moniker first caught attention by remixing Lana Del Ray, Drake, and Jeremih, those remixes played in turn by Hudson Mohawke and Diplo. The guy likes pop music and that's most clear in the beginning of third song "Kiss Kiss" where a fringed sample is transformed into a bobbing chant, in a moment that can be distasteful until you realize how unabashedly catchy it is. Then, for those put off by that bubblegum, the sample is transformed quickly into a lush wail, accentuated by slaphappy drum machines. It's clear Høiberg has experience catering to two very different types of audiences. On Mirror Maru, he takes what he's learned and creates something that's sure to unite the entire congregation.